Monday, December 9, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 19 Recap: Slimmest of margins in title chase as winter break begins

Results this past weekend drew the chase for the league title down to the finest of margins, with both Lokomotiv and Zenit level on points but separated by 1 goal difference going into the winter break. Spartak are also right in the battle, trailing the leading two by a single point. Be sure to check back here over the coming weeks as there will be some reviews of the first half of the season and previews for what to expect when the Russian Premier League returns in March.

Krasnodar 1-0 CSKA
CSKA exerted heavy pressure on Krasnodar early in the match, but were forced to relent when Keisuke Honda sustained an injury in the dying minutes. The hosts came out swinging after the interval and Artur Jedrzejczyk got what proved to be the winner at the end of a fast and well-worked build up play, however the goal should have been called offside. The visitors returned to the forefront of the match late on, with Alan Dzagoev coming close to a winner, but the solid Krasnodar defence held on for the win.

Zenit 2-1 Ural
Zenit was dominant early on in this match and it paid off in the 12th minute, when Denis Tumasyan tried to clear a cross from Domenico Criscito, but the ball fell to Hulk, who finished coolly. Strangely, it was Hulk who also gave Ural their best chance of the first half, losing the ball in his own box to allow Aleksandr Stchanitsin to fire a shot across the face of goal. The second half started in much the same manner that the first had ended, with Ural pushing forward in search of a goal, and they finally succeeded in the 55th minute. After a foul on the edge of the Zenit box, Aleksandr Erokhin took a quick free kick, flicking the ball over Zenit's stunned defence for Spartak Gogniev, who rounded the keeper and equalised. Despite Ural forcing themselves back into the match, it was Zenit who had the final say, as Hubocan finished well from within the box from an Axel Witsel cross to take the three points.

Volga 1-2 Krylia
Initially, Volga appeared to have bounced back from their devastating 6-1 loss to Spartak last week, taking the lead via Marcin Kowalczyk and effectively controlling the match. However, as the match progressed, Krylia hit back on counter-attacks, first equalising through the excellent Luis Caballero, before substitute Artem Delkin hit the winner in the final minute of regular time.

Anzhi 0-0 Kuban
Once again, Anzhi were abjectly poor, allowing Kuban to control the match before the hosts missed the simplest of chances to pick up their first win of the season. In stoppage time, Roman Bugaev gave away a penalty for fouling Ilya Maksimov, an action which also resulted in Bugaev receiving a yellow. In the resulting uproar from the Kuban players, Bugaev received his second yellow, as did Charles Kabore, both for dissent. Now with a penalty and their opponents down to nine men, Anzhi had the perfect chance to grab a win, but Maksimov missed the penalty and Kuban were able to hold on for a draw.

Lokomotiv 0-0 Rubin
football formationsNeither side were particularly threatening in this match, with not a single shot on target coming from either side. Lokomotiv held the ball well, but had Lassana Diarra sent off for two yellows in stoppage time. That's about all there is to say about this match.

Rostov 0-1 Spartak
Despite two of their best players, Artem Dzyuba and Zhano Ananidze, being ineligible for this match as loanees from Spartak, Rostov matched the Moscow side blow for blow for the majority of the match. With the match winding down, it looked as though Rostov would again get a good result against top opposition, before Waris Majeed got his first goal for Spartak off a corner to snatch a win in the dying minutes.

Dynamo 2-0 Amkar
Amkar were impressively even with Dynamo for the majority of the match, but were punished by Kevin Kuranyi on several counter-attacks. First it was a header off a Yuri Zhirkov cross, before the German's excellent penalty resigned the visitors to a loss in a match that they arguably deserved a point from.

Terek 2-0 Tom
Terek looked confident for perhaps the first time this season, going ahead through Jeremy Bokila's tap-in in the 20th minute. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Vladimir Kisenkov was sent off for a second yellow. With the game winding down, Tom Tomsk's misery was compounded when Petr Vasek was sent off and a penalty was awarded to the hosts. Vladimir Rykov, forced to deputise at keeper as Tom had no substitutions available, was unable to save Ailton's good penalty and the match ended with Terek's second victory of the season.

Table:
1 - Lokomotiv
2 - Zenit
3 - Spartak
4 - Dynamo
5 - CSKA
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Amkar
8 - Rubin
9 - Kuban
10 - Rostov
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Tom
14 - Terek
15 - Ural
16 - Anzhi

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Dynamo 2-0 Amkar: Visitors punished on counters

Dynamo pulled away to a 2-0 home victory over Amkar, dragging their table position up to fourth going into the winter break.

football formations
Dynamo lined up with no major surprises, the only change from last week's 3-0 win over Ural being the inclusion of Christopher Samba over Alan Kasaev, pushing Vladimir Granat to left back and Yuri Zhirkov up to Kasaev's left wing spot. Amkar were also largely unchanged, the only difference from their loss to Rubin on Monday being the inclusion of Ivan Cherenchikov at centre back due to Dmitri Belorukov's suspension.

The opening half an hour was a rather dull affair, with neither side willing to push forward and risk an opposing counter-attack. As a result, possession was even and shots were fairly limited before the match really started to open up in the 35th minute. Balazs Dzsudzsak had a good free kick deflected wide for a goal kick, despite coming off an Amkar player before going out. Mere minutes later, Yuri Zhirkov played an excellent ball in for Aleksandr Kokorin, yet the ball got caught up in his feet before a finish could be applied, allowing Thomas Phibel to clear the danger. This was immediately followed by Kevin Kuranyi being sent through on goal by a fantastic pass from Christian Noboa, but it was given as offside in an extremely questionable decision. Regardless, it proved to be the last chance of the half for either side.

The only change at the half was the removal of Kokorin in favour of Vladimir Dyadyun, a decision that paid off almost immediately. A defensive blunder sent both Dyadyun and Kuranyi into the box mere seconds into the half, but Dyadyun was unable to control Kuranyi's flick-on, and the chance came to nothing. The following minutes went the complete other way however, as Amkar pressured well. Maksim Kannunikov played an excellent cross for Georgi Peev, who was only inches away from getting a touch on it and potentially directing it goalwards. It was at this point that Dynamo finally took advantage of Amkar's large numbers in attack, starting a very fast counter-attack that ultimately had the ball end up with Zhirkov on the left wing. The Russian international played a lofted cross in for the onrushing Kuranyi, who headed down past Sergei Narubin to give Dynamo the lead. The goal gave Dynamo the confidence to push forward, and Amkar were forced firmly onto the back foot, struggling to effectively build up attacks or withstand the pressure from the hosts. Amkar finally got back into the game about 10 minutes later, pushing forward well but lacking the final ball time and time again. After a spell of sustained pressure from the visitors, a Dynamo counter led to Martin Jakubko giving away a penalty, which Kuranyi converted excellently to take his brace and close out the scoring.

Notes:
 - Despite playing four at the back, Dynamo quite often looked like they were playing three centre backs, due to Luke Wilkshire's constant (and poorly executed) bombing up the right flank and Vladimir Granat's disposition to drift centrally.
- Aleksandr Kokorin was absolutely battered in the first half, soaking up foul after foul. I suspect this is a large reason why he was very ineffective and looked off the pace.
- Contrastingly, upon being substituted on, Vladimir Dyadyun was incredibly effective. Rather than sitting behind Kuranyi and constantly coming deep for the ball like Kokorin, Dyadyun pushed up alongside the German and pressured the Amkar defence.
- Speaking of the Amkar defence, they were really confident in dribbling out of the back. While it sometimes came back to bite them (such as for Dzsudzsak's excellent free kick in the 35th minute), it also paid off as they were able to maintain possession for extended periods.

Man of the Match: Kevin Kuranyi
Opened the scoring with an excellent header past Sergei Narubin, before killing off the match with an excellent penalty into the top left corner. Kuranyi was always dangerous, making several runs in behind the defence to latch onto through balls from Christian Noboa and Igor Denisov.

Honourable Mentions:
Christian Noboa - Certainly the most creative player on the pitch for either side, he was constantly looking for the perfect ball to start a counter or break through Amkar's defence, and succeeded on numerous occasions.
Thomas Phibel - A rock at the heart of Amkar's defence, he distributed well from the back. However, he did look shaky in the air and could have been sent of for an "accidental" hit on Balazs Dzsudzsak in the second half.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 18 Recap: Loko go top of table while Spartak score 6

I miscalculated the times of the matches this week, so there won't be a match report unfortunately. In actual news, Lokomotiv have finally moved to first place in the league, Spartak obliterated Volga and CSKA were held to a draw by Rostov.

Dynamo 3-0 Ural

Dynamo and Ural were mostly even in terms of possession, but the hosts were certainly the more attacking of the two sides. After a goalless half hour, Vladimir Granat put Dynamo in front off a corner, however this was the only goal of the half. It didn't take nearly as long after the break for Dynamo to score their second, as Kevin Kuranyi extended their lead after just 12 minutes. Just 9 minutes later, Ural gave away a penalty but Kokorin's effort was saved by replacement keeper Aleksei Solosin. Regardless, Kokorin made up for his error with a tricky finish 3 minutes later to close out the scoring.

Terek 1-1 Zenit
With a surprisingly weak effort going forward from Zenit in the first half, the game went into the interval scoreless, but it didn't remain that way for long after the break. Igor Lebedenko put Terek ahead in the 51st minute with a wonderful (and deflected) strike off a corner that fell to him at the edge of the box. Zenit struggled for an equaliser and it took Axel Witsel's excellent shot from the edge of the box 12 minutes from time to bring the scores level and salvage a point.

Krylia 1-0 Krasnodar
Although neither side was particularly limp in attack, this match remained scoreless for over an hour, due in part to both excellent goalkeeping and bad luck. With the clock running down, it was Krylia who struck via Stanislav Dragun, who slotted away coolly when Aleksandr Filtsov's attempt at a clearance fell to him. Krylia were then able to shut up shop and hold their lead to take what can only be seen as an impressive victory.

Spartak 6-1 Volga
This one progressed just as the scoreline suggests, with complete and total dominance from Spartak. Jose Jurado scored the first two goals, including opening the scoring within 3 minutes. Lucas Barrios followed up, scoring his first for Spartak just before half time, while Aras Ozbiliz was up next, scoring the fourth and putting the game well beyond doubt. Dmitri Bulykin missed a penalty, before Matija Dvornekovic finally pulled one back for the visitors. Nonetheless, Spartak continued scoring as Ozbiliz grabbed his second before Denis Kolodin finished the scoring with an own goal to give Spartak a fantastic five goal win.

Anzhi 0-2 Tom
Anzhi's hopeless run continued although they looked significantly better than they have thus far this season. After dominating the possession and chances for most of the first half, the hosts went behind as Kirill Panchenko finished well from the edge of the box. It was Mikhail Komkov who killed off the game just 2 minutes after being substituted on with a powerful low shot.

Rostov 0-0 CSKA
football formationsRostov were the better side for the majority of the match, controlling possession and having more chances, yet they were unable to find a way through. The most interesting feature of this match was actually the returns of Zhano Ananidze and Alan Dzagoev from injury.

Kuban 1-3 Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv had an excellent opening 30 minutes to go up by three goals. Maicon opened the scoring for Loko after just 4 minutes, finishing coolly, before Vedran Corluka extended the lead with a header 10 minutes later. Mbark Boussoufa finished off the scoring for the visitors after an excellent build up play, and Loko were more than happy to sit back and defend for the rest of the match. Djibril Cisse pulled one back in the final minutes, but it was far too little, far too late for the hosts.

Rubin 3-0 Amkar
Bibras Natkho opened the scoring just before half time for the hosts, but it was the substitutions that really made a difference for Rubin. Salomon Rondon and Oleg Kuzmin were introduced off the bench at different points in the second half, and they each scored less than 2 minutes after coming on to take a solid home win.

Table:
1 - Lokomotiv
2 - Zenit
3 - Spartak
4 - CSKA
5 - Dynamo
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Amkar
8 - Rostov
9 - Kuban
10 - Rubin
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Tom
14 - Ural
15 - Terek
16 - Anzhi

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 17 Recap: Moscow derbies tighten title chase

Back to back Moscow derbies allowed Lokomotiv to close the gap between themselves and Zenit to goals scored, sitting level with the St Petersburg side on both points and goal difference. Meanwhile, CSKA's win over Spartak allowed them to pull level on points with their rivals, but remaining in fourth place due to their inferior goal difference.

football formationsZenit 0-2 Rostov
Zenit were stunned by two first half goals from Vitali Djakov and Timofei Kalachev, forcing them into action at the half as Luciano Spalletti made two subs in an effort to get back into the match. On the other hand, Miodrag Bozovic's side sat deep to hold their lead and was able to maintain it until the final whistle to take an incredible result away from home.

Tom 0-1 Rubin
An uninteresting first half was followed by an exciting and combative second period, in which Tom Tomsk's Pavel Golyshev was sent off and Rubin were issued six yellow cards. It was Sergei Kislyak who ultimately got the winner, however the visitors would likely have expected more goals given their utter dominance.

Amkar 3-1 Kuban
Kuban took the lead just before the half hour mark and then proceeded to sit back and park the bus for the remainder of the match. Initially, it appeared to work, however Amkar rallied in the final quarter of an hour, scoring three times to take the win and continue their excellent season.

CSKA 1-0 Spartak
Spartak controlled possession throughout the match while CSKA countered strongly, yet ultimately it was a joint error from Artem Rebrov and Evgenni Makeev that allowed Seydou Doumbia to score the winner in only the 7th minute.

Lokomotiv 1-0 Dynamo
On the other hand, the weekend's second Moscow derby was even throughout as the two teams battled for the three points. It was Dame N'Doye who gave Lokomotiv the lead halfway through the second half, but Dynamo looked likely to equalise for much of the rest of the match, with only Loko's excellent defence holding onto the win.

Ural 1-1 Krylia
Denis Tumasyan scored first for the hosts, but his efforts were undermined by Aleksandr Erokhin, who got sent off just after half time, allowing Krylia to completely dominate the match. However, their attempts came to nothing until very late on, when Luis Caballero's late equaliser salvaged a result for the visitors.

Anzhi 0-0 Volga
This match was very boring and very ugly. Anzhi are still terrible.

Krasnodar 3-2 Terek
Krasnodar took the spoils in a back and forth match that could very easily have gone Terek's way. The hosts first went ahead via a Marcin Komorowski own goal, before Oleg Ivanov equalised just over a minute later. It was Krasnodar's Pavel Mamaev who scored next, but again the visitors pegged back immediately via Ivanov, who scored less than a minute after Mamaev. However, the winner ultimately came from Krasnodar, when Wanderson scored just over 15 minutes from time to take the three points.

Table:
1 - Zenit
2 - Lokomotiv
3 - Spartak
4 - CSKA
5 - Amkar
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Dynamo
8 - Kuban
9 - Rostov
10 - Rubin
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Tom
14 - Ural
15 - Terek
16 - Anzhi

Saturday, November 23, 2013

CSKA 1-0 Spartak: CSKA capitalise on Rebrov blunder

Seydou Doumbia capitalised on an Artem Rebrov mistake to score the only goal in an exciting Moscow derby, the first of the weekend.

Both sides retained their typical 4-2-3-1 formations as the hosts made just one change from the side that beat Terek two weeks ago, with Mario Fernandes returning to action after six months out with a knee injury. Spartak saw more changes, with Joao Carlos returning to first team action in place of the suspended Tino Costa, allowing Rafael Carioca to push forward into his preferred defensive midfield role. Kim Kallstrom and Ariz Ozbiliz were also replaced in favour of Jose Jurado and Pavel Yakovlev respectively.

Neither side started the match particularly strongly and passing was sloppy in the opening minutes as possession changed hands rapidly early on, before the scoring opened in the 7th minute. A ball forward from Pontus Wernbloom prompted Artem Rebrov to come out and attempt to clear, but poor judgement meant that Doumbia got to the ball ahead of both Rebrov and Evgenni Makeev, tapping it up over them and slotting home coolly. It was a woeful error of judgement from Rebrov, however Makeev was also partially at fault for not dealing with the ball earlier. Despite going behind, it was Spartak who looked strongest as they pushed forward, but lacked the final ball into the box as Glushakov and Jurado struggled to create chances. Indeed, it was CSKA who had the next chance, when Zoran Tosic flicked the ball over Dmitri Kombarov and went one on one with Rebrov, who saved well and went some way to redeeming his earlier error. It was not until ten minutes later that Spartak finally got their chance when a Jurado free kick fell to Glushakov, whose shot was cleared off the line by Mario Fernandes. The most notable event of the remainder of the first half proved to be not a goal, but a foul on the verge of half time. Makeev was lucky not to be sent off for his challenge on Milanov, which led to a confrontation between players of both sides that the referee was able to manage and call half time.

football formationsCSKA came out firing after the break, and Keisuke Honda missed a simple chance within three minutes of the interval. Milanov broke through down the left and sent a perfect cross in, but instead of firing home, Honda took a touch away from goal and fired wide. It was a terrible effort at a point where the game could've been put beyond doubt. It was mere minutes later when Honda nearly made up for his miss, playing an excellent ball through to Doumbia, whose shot was blocked by Makeev. CSKA's following attack led to chances for all of Fernandes, Tosic, Milanov and Doumbia, yet none could find a way through to kill the match off. Nonetheless, they continued to push for a second goal and Wernbloom came close, heading the ball off the post from a Honda free kick. However, that proved to be the last big chance for CSKA, as Spartak forced themselves forwards in search of an equliser, with Jurado coming closest. Fifteen minutes from full time, he skipped through three challenges in the CSKA box before shooting straight at Akinfeev, who made a simple save. Following that chance, the match once again degenerated into a bunch of fouls and yellow cards, and from there the game fizzled out with CSKA taking the victory.

Notes:
- Spartak completely dominated possession but struggled to create chances. Their wastefulness gave CSKA many opportunities to counter-attack and get up the other end, but the hosts too lacked the final touch for much of the match.
- Yura Movsisyan definitely looked like he wasn't at 100% following his injury against Zenit. He seemed rather slow on the sprint and struggled to get involved.
- I'm not sure Pavel Yakovlev did anything while he was on the pitch. I really can't advocate starting him over either Aras Ozbiliz or Kirill Kombarov with McGeady on the left.
- On the other hand, Georgi Milanov really grew into the match, especially in the second half. He was dominant down the left flank and his performance was crucial in pinning back Sergei Parshivlyuk.

Man of the Match: Mario Fernandes
Fernandes made his return from a knee injury that kept him out of action for six months, yet managed to look like he hadn't missed a second. He was very good going forward, completing a higher percentage of passes than any other starter on either team, but the moment that separated him from the rest of the bunch was his fantastic block and clearance on the goal line in the 27th minute.

Honourable Mentions:
Georgi Schennikov - Included for similar reasons to Fernandes, Schennikov was great going forward and solid at the back. Fernandes only edges this due to his fantastic block.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 16 Recap: Surprising results abound

There were a few rather shocking results this weekend, among an abundance of goals as four separate teams scored four goals each. The team of the week was particularly hard to narrow down, especially in the forward slot, as all of Yura Movsisyan, Seydou Doumbia, Artem Dzyuba, Aleksandr Kokorin and Ibrahima Balde put in fantastic performances, but there just isn't enough room for all of them.

Ural 1-4 Rostov
Rostov got back to winning ways after far too long on the back of excellent performances by Artem Dzyuba and Guelor Kanga. Dzyuba scored either side of Arseni Logashov's goal, while Kanga assisted one and scored another of his own to put Rostov up by four goals. Spartak Gogniev scored one very late on to pull one back for the hosts, but it was far too little, far too late.

Tom 2-0 Lokomotiv
Tom stunned Lokomotiv early when Evgeny Bashkirov put the hosts in front after just 5 minutes. Things went from bad to worse for Loko just over half an hour later, when Jan Durica gave away a penalty that Pavel Ignatovich converted well, before Dmitri Tarasov was sent off 5 minutes later. The visitors were never able to find a way back into the match and suffered an embarrassing loss when a win could have put them in 1st place.

Krylia 1-2 Dynamo
football formationsKrylia drew first blood through Igor Semshov's strike in the 23rd minute, yet Igor Denisov equalised just 6 minutes later. For much of the match, the hosts looked better with the ball, yet Dynamo used the counter-attack to great effectiveness and eventually got the winner through Christian Noboa with just 15 minutes to play.

Spartak 4-2 Zenit
Both Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Hulk scored for the visitors, but the highlight of the match was definitely the performances of Yura Movsisyan, who scored an excellent hat-trick before departing due to injury, and Denis Glushakov, who scored a beatiful solo goal to stun the leaders and bring the gap between the teams back to just three points.

Amkar 1-0 Anzhi
Amkar completely dominated Anzhi for the full 90 minutes as the hosts barely touched the ball and failed to register a single shot on target. That being said, Amkar should be extremely disappointed in leaving it so late to score, with Dmitri Belorukov getting the winner in the 83rd minute to continue Anzhi's absolutely dismal season.

CSKA 4-1 Terek
CSKA had an absolutely fantastic first half as Seydou Doumbia scored either side of Sergei Ignashevich and Zoran Tosic goals to go into the half with a four goal advantage. They let off the pressure considerably and allowed Terek to pull one back through Ailton 20 minutes from time, but it was nonetheless an impressive result, especially with the absences of Alan Dzagoev and Ahmed Musa.

Rubin 0-1 Krasnodar
Rubin and Krasnodar looked mostly even for the majority of the match and it took a special moment from substitutes Wanderson and Joaozinho (the exclusion of both in the starting XI was perplexing nonetheless) to break the deadlock and continue Rubin's atrocious recent form.

Kuban 4-0 Volga
Ibrahima Balde scored first and last, while Ivelin Popov and Vladislav Ignatiev got one each in an absolute destruction of Volga by Kuban, which was really to be expected.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Spartak 4-2 Zenit: Movsisyan hat-trick highlight of incredible match

Spartak fought to a well deserved 4-2 victory over Zenit, thanks largely to a Yura Movsisyan hat-trick, however the Armenian's match was marred by an injury just before the hour mark. Also, as a side note, there is a notable lack of a formation diagram as the website I use for it appears to be suffering some issues right now.

Both sides lined up primarily in their expected formations: Spartak in a 4-2-3-1 and Zenit in a 4-3-3, however both managers made a number of changes both out of necessity and choice. Valeri Karpin brought in Aras Ozbiliz for the suspended Jose Jurado, while Kim Kallstrom replaced injured Joao Carlos as Rafael Carioca was dropped to centre back. Sergey Pesjakov was dropped in favour of Artem Rebrov, who hadn't played a league match for Spartak in over a year. For their opponents, Luciano Spalletti dropped the group of Roman Shirokov, Luis Neto, Danny and Igor Smolnikov for Konstantin Zyryanov, Tomas Hubocan, Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Aleksandr Anyukov respectively.

Spartak's first half (and Movsisyan's in particular) didn't start very well as he picked up a yellow card within 30 seconds after handling the ball into Yuri Lodygin's woodwork. The hosts suffered further as Kerzhakov put Zenit in front after only 5 minutes thanks to a perfectly weighted Domenico Criscito cross. And then things appeared to go from bad to worse in the 19th minute as Tino Costa fouled Witsel in the box to give away a penalty. However, Rebrov was equal to Hulk's poor effort and managed to clear the resulting scramble to maintain the one goal gap. Things started to change around 10 minutes later, as Spartak pushed forward. Costa tested Lodygin with a shot from range before Movsisyan sent a glancing header in off the post from a corner to equalise. Mere minutes later, Ozbiliz fired just wide after a corner fell to him on the edge of the box, and Nicolas Lombaerts had to be replaced after a terrible challenge from Aiden McGeady. It took just 3 more minutes before Spartak took the lead, when a horrible Hubocan clearance fell straight to Movsisyan in the box and he slotted away coolly, but he was still not content with that. In the final play of the half, the Armenian rounded Lodygin and shot on target, but Hubocan went some way to redeeming himself for his earlier mistake by clearing the ball off the line to end the half with just a goal in it.

The second period began much as the first had ended, with Spartak dominant. So dominant in fact that Movsisyan bagged his hat-trick after Tino Costa sent a powerful cross into him after just over a minute. Unfortunately, that proved to be his last involvement as he twisted painfully just 10 minutes later and had to come off the pitch, yet was able to move to the sideline under his own power. Zenit looked fired up upon immediately conceding and managed to turn the flow of the game back in their favour and the added pressure paid off when Hulk smashed home an excellent free kick in the 64th minute to bring the visitors back within one goal. However, this goal seemed to give Zenit the impression that they could sit back and relax and, as a result, Spartak retook control of the match. Their renewed possession finally became important in the final 10 minutes, as substitute Luxas Barrios knocked home a Glushakov free kick, but his goal was disallowed for offside. Nonetheless, just 3 minutes later, Glushakov made a barnstorming run through Zenit's midfield and defence to finish off the match with an excellent individual goal. The visitors mounted a minor attack with minutes to go, but it was too little too late for Zenit and the match finished 4-2.

Notes:
- Yura Movsisyan was absolutely incredible in the hour that he was on the pitch. Not only was his finishing perfect, but his contribution to build-up play and his efforts in winning the ball back in the final third were excellent.
- Artem Rebrov had an up and down match. He was largely at fault for Zenit's two goals, yet was excellent in making saves outside of those two slip-ups.
- Hulk too was rather inconsistent today, as he worked well on the ball to create several chances, but struggled to get involved at times. His penalty was poorly taken, but his free kick was precisely the opposite and was fired into just the right area.
- So far this season Zenit have had an issue of starting halves slowly and taking hold of the match as play went on, but this match was the complete opposite of that. Aside from one chance at the beginning of each half, Zenit were dominant early but let their grasp slip as each period went on.

Man of the Match: Yura Movsisyan
Absolutely perfect performance from him. Could've had at least 1 or 2 more had his match not been marred by injury.

Honourable Mentions:
Denis Glushakov - Dangerous with the ball in the centre of the park, and his individual goal was well taken. He also dropped deep often to help in defence.
Aleksandr Kerzhakov - Constantly making dangerous runs into Spartak's box, but ultimately all but one came to nothing.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 15 Recap: Derby day ends in resounding victories

It's the first Matchweek Recap for From Beyond the Iron Curtain for more than two months and it was a week of interesting results, including two decisive derby wins.

football formationsVolga 1-2 CSKA
Volga deservedly took the lead early through Luton Shelton before Seydou Doumbia earned the equaliser just minutes later. Volga looked the better side for the majority, but were punished when the in-form Zoran Tosic got the winner in the 72nd minute.

Dynamo 1-0 Tom
This was an excessively defensive match, as was to be expected considering the sides involved (Dynamo is an excellent defensive side and Tom just isn't very good). The only goal was a Maksim Bordachev own goal in the 42nd minute to give Dynamo the win.

Zenit 1-1 Amkar
Amkar did an excellent job of containing Zenit and definitely deserved at least a point in this match. The visitors went ahead early via Thomas Phibel's effort off a set piece and it took an excellent piece of skill by Danny to equalise for the hosts as the remainder of Zenit's attack misfired time and time again.

Krasnodar 1-2 Kuban
This Krasnodar derby was largely boring for the majority of the 90 minutes as Gigel Bucur put Kuban in front just after the hour. In stoppage time, Ivelin Popov added a second, while Gerard Gohou pulled one back for Krasnodar to end the derby in a flurry of exciting football.

Rostov 0-0 Rubin
Both sides traded chances for 90 minutes but neither was able to find a way through, largely due to the poor performances of their respective strikers.

Spartak 1-3 Lokomotiv
Spartak dominated possession but were torn apart on the counter-attack in this edition of the Moscow derby. Dame N'Doye hit twice for the visitors, while Aleksandr Samedov scored their third and Yura Movsisyan applied the only successful finish for the hosts, who have started to fall away from title contention.

Anzhi 0-1 Ural
Anzhi continued their terrible campaign with a home loss against fellow relegation candidates Ural. Anzhi's performance was marked by poor finishing, despite numerous chances coming on the break. Nonetheless, it took until second half stoppage time for Ural to clinch it, when Gerson Acevedo scored and crushed Anzhi's hopes.

Terek 0-1 Krylia 
In an exciting relegation battle, Terek had almost all of the chances, yet were constantly denied by Jan Mucha. Krylia took their chance early on to go ahead through Sergei Kornilenko and were able to hunker back and defend for the entirety of the second half to take the win.

Table:
1 - Zenit
2 - Lokomotiv
3 - Spartak
4 - CSKA
5 - Dynamo
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Amkar
8 - Kuban
9 - Rubin
10 - Krylia
11 - Rostov
12 - Volga
13 - Ural
14 - Terek
15 - Tom
16 - Anzhi

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Rostov 0-0 Rubin: Hosts dangerous yet fail to take chances

Rostov and Rubin played out a surprisingly exciting match that unfortunately ended in a goalless draw. In other news, From Beyond the Iron Curtain is back from hiatus with a new match report format which, in addition to detailing the events of the match and highlighting the best players, will include a notes section that features more general information about the course of the match.

Both sides started in their preferred 4-2-3-1 formations, with only one major change to Rubin's lineup and three to Rostov's. For Rubin, Solomon Kvirkvelia replaced the injured Ivan Marcano, while Rostov's Siyanda Xulu took Bastos's place in the starting XI after the former gave away a penalty against Spartak last week. Rostov's Spartak loanees Artem Dzyuba and Zhano Ananidze also returned to the starting lineup after having to sit out against their parent club.

Rostov opened the match well, looking sharp on the ball, yet they often lacked the off-the-ball runs to meet the ambitious passes of Ananidze and Timofey Kalachev. From the outset, Ananidze looked key to Rostov's chances of breaking through, as his dribbles off the wing wreaked havoc for Rubin's back line. Indeed, it was the Georgian wonderkid who provided the first chance of the match when his cross from the left fell to Dzyuba, who volleyed well wide from 10 yards. For the majority of the next 15 minutes, Rostov looked for a way through a stern Rubin defence, with an Ananidze through ball barely claimed by Sergei Ryzhikov before an onrushing Dzyuba could reach it. However, after a quick counter resulted in a Rubin corner, Kvirkvelia forced Stipe Pletikosa into an excellent acrobatic save to keep the visitors goalless. Minutes later, after a good dribble off the left wing, Guelor Kanga fired a good shot from long range, yet Ryzhikov claimed it easily. Ananidze and Kanga continued to be dangerous, their interplay across the pitch causing problems for Yann M'Vila in particular, who struggled with the greater numbers of Rostov's attackers. However, the final major chance before half time came from Rubin, who saw a Ruslan Mukhametshin goal rightfully called back for offside.

Rubin introduced Roman Eremenko in the place of Wakaso Mubarak after the break and the move looked the right one, as the visitors immediately looked more ambitious and dangerous. Rubin saw the first chance of the half as Mukhametshin put the ball wide from close range after being put through by Bibras Natkho, while Rostov almost went ahead 15 minutes later through Ananidze after he volleyed a chipped pass just across the face of goal. However, from then on everything went Rubin's way as the hosts were slowly shut out of the match. Karadeniz fired close over the crossbar after a quick passing move that covered most of the pitch, while the final chance of the match fell to Oleg Kuzmin, whose powerful header was held excellently by Pletikosa in the second minute of stoppage time. Ultimately however, the match ended goalless despite the plethora of chances for both sides.

Notes:
- Rostov had an excellent first half as they used all of Ananidze, Kanga and Kalachev to full effect. M'Vila and Natkho looked unable to cope.
- The Eremenko substitution was the perfect switch. Wakaso had done next to nothing in the first half and Rubin needed more physicality rather than finesse going forwards.
- Zhano Ananidze continues to show his potential week in week out, but he needs a bit more refinement to compete at the highest level. The 21 year old could perhaps be considered too ambitious, but his desire to impact games is clear.
football formations- Contrastingly, Artem Dzyuba was uncharacteristically poor. There were several Ananidze through balls that most forwards would have been able to reach, yet Dzyuba looked off the pace and his touch was very bad.

Man of the Match: Guelor Kanga
Constantly dangerous both on and off the ball, Kanga earned six free kicks for his side and almost beat Ryzhikov with an excellent long range shot.

Honourable Mentions:
Gokdeniz Karadeniz - Seemed to be behind every Rubin attack and was very dangerous dribbling in from the left.
Zhano Ananidze - Simply excellent throughout the first half but got marked out of the game as time went on. Nonetheless, he still managed to contribute effectively in defence on top of his normal creative duties.
Arseni Logashov - Excellent in dominating Rostov's right flank, getting forward well but also making a number of crucial tackles and interceptions.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Temporary Break

Some of you may have noticed that I have not posted in two weeks, and so I thought I should explain. I will unfortunately have to take a break from writing FBTIC until November 1st due to my own commitments. I thank you for your patience.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 7 Recap: Zenit Top Table for First Time

In the last matchweek before both the transfer deadline and the international break, Zenit St. Petersburg have gone to the top of the table for the first time this season, however their victory over Lokomotiv was tarnished by poor refereeing.

CSKA 2-1 Amkar
football formationsCSKA completely dominated after going down in under a minute, and fought back to win 2-1 with goals from Seydou Doumbia and Ahmed Musa. The hosts probably could have won by more considering their dominance, however they were disadvantaged by an injury to Doumbia just 9 minutes after his goal.

Terek 1-1 Anzhi
Anzhi's terrible start to the season has continued with a 1-1 draw with Terek. Centre back Ewerton opened the scoring for Anzhi just after the half hour mark, before Terek threw everything they had at an equaliser. Their efforts were repaid in the 87th minute when Ailton converted from the penalty spot, however their dominance deserved a win.

Krasnodar 3-0 Volga
Wanderson and Joaozinho put on a clinic in Krasnodar's 3-0 victory over Volga, with each player involved in the scoring twice. Wanderson put the finish on two goals, while Joaozinho set up one and scored the side's final effort. However, it must be noted that the match was far more even than the scoreline suggests and it could easily have gone the other way with some better finishing from Volga.

Zenit 2-1 Lokomotiv
I don't really have much to say about this match other than that the referee was terrible. If you want to know more, you can read my match report here.

Ural 0-3 Rubin
Ural were outplayed by a fantastic Rubin side, in particular Salomon Rondon and Bibras Natkho. Rondon finally appears to be paying off his transfer fee after a year in the club and he was fantastic on Sunday, scoring all three of the match's goals, two of which were set up by Natkho.

Spartak 2-1 Tom
Spartak struggled to an unremarkable win against continually poor Tom Tomsk. The hosts conceded first through the excellent Vladimir Rykov, but came from behind to win 2-1 through goals from Yura Movsisyan and Pavel Yakovlev. The win, like CSKA's earlier in the weekend, could have been much more comfortable were it not for poor finishing.

Krylia 0-0 Kuban
Krylia and Kuban fought to a goalless draw, although this was less due to poor finishing and more due to fantastic defensive work from both sides.

Dynamo 1-1 Rostov
Neither side were able to fully capitalise on an open match and take the victory, as Hrvoje Milic and Aleksandr Kokorin scored early on in each half to send both supporters home with what should be seen as a satisfactory result.

Table:
1 - Zenit
2 - Spartak
3 - Rostov
4 - CSKA
5 - Lokomotiv
6 - Rubin
7 - Krasnodar
8 - Kuban
9 - Dynamo
10 - Amkar
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Terek
14 - Anzhi
15 - Ural
16 - Tom

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Zenit 2-1 Lokomotiv: Match Takes Back Seat to Poor Officiating

What promised to be a good match was ultimately ruined by poor officiating as referee Sergei Ivanov failed to contain tensions between the two teams and ultimately awarded each side an unnecessary penalty.

Both sides lined up basically as expected, Zenit in their typical 4-3-3, with a midfield consisting of Konstantin Zyryanov, Axel Witsel and Roman Shirokov. Aleksandr Kerzhakov was the only change in the front three, replacing Oleg Shatov, while Tomas Hubocan started at left back despite the presence of Nicolas Lombaerts in the starting XI. Lokomotiv too went with their preferred formation, a 4-2-3-1, and their standard back four all got starts. Meanwhile, Lassana Diarra got his first start for Lokomotiv and Felipe Caicedo was favoured up front to Dame N'Doye and Roman Pavlyuchenko, both of whom started on the bench.

Zenit opened the match well, with Axel Witsel coming close within 5 minutes, however Ilya Abaev was there to make a solid save. Minutes later, we saw a sign of what was to come, as the referee dished out unnecessary cards to Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Vedran Corluka. The match continued in this vein when, following a Mbark Boussoufa free kick that rattled the crossbar, Luis Neto and Renat Ranbaev were also booked, with Yanbaev being the first player to actually deserve a card. It was Zenit who had the next chance, as Andrei Arshavin cut into the box from the right and shot across the face of goal, before Boussoufa shook the woodwork again 15 minutes later with a shot from just inside the box. As the half wound to an end, Roman Shirokov and Lassana Diarra tripped over one another in the Lokomotiv box, and the referee deemed it a professional foul (which was the wrong call in my opinion), sending Diarra off and awarding Zenit a penalty, which Shirokov confidently converted.

football formationsNow down a man, Lokomotiv manager Leonid Kuchuk was forced to make a defensive change, with Felipe Caicedo being replaced by Jan Tigorev at half time. It appeared to work at first, as Lokomotiv gained possession for long spells and coming close through Maicon and Dmitri Tarasov in the opening 10 minutes of the half. Their efforts finally paid off when, in the 69th minute, the referee made another poor decision, deeming that Igor Smolnikov handled the ball in the box and handing Lokomotiv a chance to equalise from the spot. Boussoufa took the opportunity and put the teams back on level terms, although Zenit pushed harder and finally started to retake control of the match. Nonetheless, Lokomotiv defended valiantly and appeared to have held the hosts to a draw when they were punished in the 86th minute. Danny dribbled into the Lokomotiv box and cut the ball back to Konstantin Zyryanov (seriously, that guy is still playing?!), who shot past Abaev from the edge of the box, ending the match at 2-1 to Zenit.

Man of the Match: Mbark Boussoufa
Boussoufa was excellent on the ball, creating a number of chances with his excellent passing. He was unlucky not to score from open play, however he made up for it by scoring the penalty.

Honourable Mentions:
Nicolas Lombaerts - Solid at the back and confident on the ball, Lombaerts relieved pressure on his midfielders by taking up some of the playmaking burden.
Roman Shirokov - Shirokov had an unusually poor passing game, yet was fantastic with the ball at his feet and confidently converted from the spot to put the hosts in front.
Dmitri Tarasov - Tarasov didn't put a foot out of line all match, effectively creating play and breaking up Zenit attacks with apparent ease.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Rumour Roundup: August 28th, 2013

Hello everyone. We're finally getting into the business end of the transfer window, with 9 days to go before it slams shut, meaning this is your second last Rumour Roundup of the year. I will, however, feature a general transfer window roundup the day on the Monday following the end of the window, so look forward to that.

Done Deals:
Chelsea has confirmed that it has agreed terms with Anzhi for the transfer of Willian, subject to a work permit hearing. The winger had reportedly completed a medical with Tottenham Hotspur, when Chelsea became involved and offered more in both transfer fee and wages, with the reported fee believed to be around €37 million.

Spartak has completed the transfer of Anzhi central defender Joao Carlos for an undisclosed fee. Carlos made his Spartak debut alongside Salvatore Bocchetti in the club's 2-1 loss to Amkar on Sunday.

Looking Likely:
According to the Daily Mail, Samuel Eto'o will follow Willian to Chelsea as part of the deal for the Brazilian. Jose Mourinho managed Eto'o at Inter Milan and is not believed to rate Chelsea's current forwards, having played a strikerless formation against Manchester United on Monday.

Spartak midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov could make a move to Rubin in a bid to gain playing time, via Russian Football News. Bilyaletdinov joined Spartak from Everton in January 2012, yet has only played 24 league matches in that time, scoring 4 goals.

CSKA is on the verge of signing Botafogo striker Vitinho for a fee of €10 million, as reported by the Ledger Enquirer.

50/50:
If voetbalnieuws.be is to be believed, Alan Dzagoev could be set for a move to Tottenham. The London based club are reportedly interested in Dzagoev as a partial replacement for the departing Gareth Bale, with Roma's Erik Lamela also believed to be coming in. No price has been quoted, however my estimate is around €25 million, however this could decrease if reported CSKA target Emmanuel Adebayor is included in the deal.

Low Chance:
Zenit has declared that forward Hulk is not for sale, amidst interest from Tottenham. The English club was reported to be interested for around €35 million, well short of Zenit's €46 million asking price. Hulk is believed to be eager to put his spell in Russia behind him and link back up with his manager at Porto, Andre Villas-Boas.

Spartak's move for Toby Alderweireld appears to have failed after the club signed Joao Carlos. Alderweireld is believed to be interested in a move to the English Premier League, and has been linked with North London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal in recent weeks.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 6 Recap: Rostov suffer first loss as Lokomotiv turn up the pressure

Hey everyone. It's six matchweeks in and Rostov has finally lost its first match of the season due to two red cards, while there were a couple of surprising results elsewhere.

Dynamo 1-1 Zenit
Dynamo controlled this match from almost start to finish, going ahead through a Balazs Dzsudzsak deflection in the 64th minute, yet were absolutely robbed by an Aleksandr Kerzhakov header with the absolute last touch of the match.

Tom 1-2 CSKA
Igor Portnyagin sent Tom ahead on the half hour mark, but CSKA battled back and dominated the game, taking goals from Seydou Doumbia and Ahmed Musa in the space of 9 minutes to put the visitors ahead and take the win to go top of the table.

Volga 1-0 Terek
Terek played better overall, controlling possession and taking charge of the game, but Volga's counterattacking game prevailed as Anton Putsila scored in the 75th minute to take the match for the hosts.

Anzhi 1-2 Krasnodar
Anzhi continued a dismal start to the season with a disappointing loss to Krasnodar. Krasnodar controlled the match and, despite conceding to Anzhi's Odil Ahmedov on the stroke of half time, managed to pull 2 back via Mauricio Pereyra and Wanderson to take the win.

Rubin 1-1 Krylia
In a surprisingly even match, veteran Gokdeniz Karadeniz scored the opener just 10 minutes in, before Ibrahim Tsallagov scored in first half stoppage time to equalise. Neither side were able to truly impose themselves on the match and the second half played out without note.

Kuban 3-2 Ural
football formationsBoth sides got a penalty and converted in what was a back and forth match that either team could have won. Ultimately it was Kuban, and Djibril Cisse in particular, that took the 3-2 victory, however it was not as convincing as it could have been.

Amkar 2-1 Spartak
Despite Spartak's more attacking game, it was Amkar who scored first on an excellent counter, while Pavel Yakovlev equalised just after half time. Martin Jakubko's winner should arguably have been denied due to Makhach Gadzhiev's foul on Sergei Parshivlyuk in the build up, however the referee saw nothing wrong with it and Amkar took the victory.

Lokomotiv 5-0 Rostov
Firstly, this scoreline doesn't reflect the true nature of this match. Rostov were actually playing quite well in the first half, and were unlucky to go into the interval trailing by a goal. However, they suffered the misfortune of two red cards (one to each starting fullback) and Lokomotiv took full advantage, as their crossing game led to three second half goals from open play.

Table:
1 -CSKA
2 - Lokomotiv
3 - Rostov
4 - Spartak
5 - Zenit
6 - Amkar
7 - Kuban
8 - Dynamo
9 - Krasnodar
10 - Rubin
11 - Volga
12 - Krylia
13 - Ural
14 - Terek
15 - Anzhi
16 - Tom

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Dynamo 1-1 Zenit: Visitors take undeserved point

Dynamo thoroughly outplayed Zenit today, but were robbed by Aleksandr Kerzhakov's header with the last touch of the game.

Dynamo put out an entirely unsurprising 4-2-3-1, with Luke Wilkshire replacing Nikita Chicherin as Dan Petrescu's only change from the side that drew with Krasnodar last week. Meanwhile, Luciano Spalletti put out a somewhat surprising lineup, with a front three composed of debutant Oleg Shatov and two left wingers in Danny and Andrei Arshavin. The two alternated throughout the first half, yet Arshavin was arguably the more central of the two.

Neither side opened the match particularly well, but Dynamo had the first chance of the match as Fyodor Smolov headed a perfectly weighted Balazs Dzsudzsak cross wide of the far post in just the 5th minute. Six minutes later, it was Zenit with a chance as Christian Ansaldi sent a low cross for Roman Shirokov, who was fresh off a hat-trick in Portugal on Wednesday, however Dynamo keeper Roman Berezovski got to the ball first and prevented a scoring opportunity. Next up was Dzsudzsak, who unleashed a long range shot that Yuri Lodygin only barely held, before Denisov unleashed another minutes later that also challenged the keeper. There was only one more chance for either side before the break, as Lodygin was called into action yet again, saving well at the feet of Alan Kasaev while Nicolas Lombaerts blocked Artur Yusupov's following effort.

football formationsOnly one change was made at the interval, as Spalletti shifted to a more conventional approach, replacing the ineffective Arshavin with Aleksandr Kerzhakov, a decision that would eventually prove to be the right one. Dynamo came out of the blocks on fire, and before long Dzsudzsak had put them in front from a good shot that took a deflection off the back of Lombaerts. The hosts then became content to hold onto possession and sit deep, launching the occasional attack forward, but coming to nothing for the most part. Finally, substitute Vladimir Dyadyun had a good chance, but once again Lodygin made an excellent save. Zenit immediately sent the ball up the other end and the ball fell loose in Dynamo's box, however no one was able to apply a finish. Dzsudzsak went head to head again with Lodygin in the first minute of stoppage time, but the keeper came out on top once more, and his efforts were repaid up the other end when Shirokov flicked the ball onto Kerzhakov, who finished coolly with an excellent diving header. Dynamo were punished despite being the better team for the majority, as Zenit pulled a draw out of their hats with literally the final touch of the game.

Man of the Match: Yuri Lodygin
Lodygin was on spectacular form as he went one on one with Dynamo's forwards and came out on top time after time. He was unlucky to concede off a deflection, but performed admirably considering his defenders left him to do much of their work.

Honourable Mentions:
Balazs Dzsudzsak - For most of the match, he was Dynamo's only forward offering anything going forward. His goal was somewhat lucky, but he would have scored had it not been for Lodygin's fantastic performance.
Roman Berezovski - Played well, yet was overshadowed by Lodygin's performance at the other end.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Rumour Roundup: August 21st, 2013

So everybody, for the second week running, Anzhi's transfers dominate the news, although there are some other interesting rumours going around as well.

Done Deals:
Igor Denisov, Aleksandr Kokorin and Yuri Zhirkov all transferred to Dynamo from Anzhi. You can read all about it here.

Two further Anzhi departures are Mbark Boussoufa and Lassana Diarra, who have joined Lokomotiv for around €25 million. Diarra most likely signed to cover for the recent departure of Denis Glushakov to Spartak, while Boussoufa will strengthen Lokomotiv's currently weak wings and attacking midfield.

Looking Likely:
According to a plethora of sources throughout England and Russia, Willian looks set to complete a €35 million move to Tottenham Hotspur after reportedly turning down a move to Liverpool. Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has been interested in the Brazilian since he was at Shakhtar, and Willian described Villas-Boas as a "friend" in November last year.

50/50:
If the Guardian is to be believed, Everton will continue their interest in Spartak winger Aiden McGeady. McGeady has long been a target of both Everton as a club and their new manager, Roberto Martinez, who tried to bring McGeady to England as manager of Wigan.

Low Chance:
According to Tribal FootballLuis Neto's agent has stated that his client is not interested in a move from Zenit to Inter Milan, having only joined the St. Petersburg club from Sienna in January.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 5 Recap: Rostov go top with Volga demolition

We're back with the first Matchweek Recap in 2 weeks and what a week! Anzhi's first match after the beginning of their firesale and some great performances in a few other games made this week one to watch. However, goals were somewhat hard to come by, as only Zenit and Rostov scored more than 1 goal from all of the matches this week.

Ural 0-0 Amkar
Ural and Amkar played out a goalless draw that I didn't have the misfortune to watch (although apparently it was more exciting than it sounds). From what I can tell, Ural countered Amkar's possession play and arguably deserved to edge it, but it was a mostly even match.

Zenit 3-0 Anzhi
Zenit brushed aside a weakened and collapsing Anzhi in a confident three goal win. Roman Shirokov opened the scoring after 25 minutes, before Hulk extended Zenit's lead just before the break. Zenit's new left back, Christian Ansaldi, completed the scoring 18 minutes from time to take the hosts into fourth place.

Terek 0-1 Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv were dominant, yet were held out time after time by a resilient Terek defence, and were forced to rely on a stoppage time winner from substitute Aleksandr Samedov to take the three points.

CSKA 1-0 Kuban
CSKA were the better side by virtue of a stellar performance from Alan Dzagoev, however finishing was poor for both sides and the hosts only won due to an Ahmed Musa goal in the 11th minute. Following this match, I decided that Dzagoev had put in possibly the best performance in the RPL this season, with the main competitor being Jose Manuel Jurado against Dynamo, however I didn't know how wrong I'd be come the end of the weekend.

Spartak 0-0 Rubin
Spartak had the upper hand in a match where Lucas Barrios made his debut and Salvatore Bocchetti suffered a seemingly serious injury mere minutes from time, however the game was largely uneventful otherwise and a goalless draw was a reasonable result for both sides.

Krylia 1-0 Tom
football formationsDespite going a man down when Ilya Maksimov was sent off in the 56th minute, Krylia completely outplayed Tom. Ibrahim Tsallagov scored just 5 minutes after Maksimov's departure for the only goal of the match and Krylia's first win of the season.

Krasnodar 1-1 Dynamo
Wanderson put the hosts a goal up in the 9th minute and it took Dynamo an entire match of dominance to get their equaliser. Substitute Andrei Panyukov scored in the 83rd minute to pull the scores level and neither side was able to make an impact in the remaining minutes.

Rostov 4-0 Volga
Rostov continued their spectacular start to the season with a four goal romping of Volga. Zhano Ananidze opened the scoring, before assisting Timofei Kalachev and Artem Dzyuba for the next two. Byung-Soo Yoo then scored the fourth minutes from full time. After thinking Alan Dzagoev's performance against Kuban was incredible, I was blown away by Ananidze's constant work rate and technical ability. Normally he has these things in abundance, but against Volga he took it to another level and it's nice to see such a young talent performing so well.

Table:
1 - Rostov
2 - Spartak
3 - CSKA
4 - Zenit
5 - Lokomotiv
6 - Dynamo
7 - Rubin
8 - Amkar
9 - Kuban
10 - Krylia
11 - Krasnodar
12 - Volga
13 - Ural
14 - Terek
15 - Anzhi
16 - Tom

Sunday, August 18, 2013

CSKA 1-0 Kuban: CSKA held to one goal despite overall dominance

CSKA triumphed at home, however could probably have scored more than they did in a 1-0 victory. Also, for the first time this match report will include an honourable mentions list for the man of the match award.

CSKA sent out their typical 4-2-3-1, although with a few positional switches. Dzagoev dropped into the double pivot with Pontus Wernbloom, while the attacking midfield band of 3 read as Steven Zuber, Keisuke Honda and Ahmed Musa from left to right, with Seydou Doumbia lining up at striker. Meanwhile, Kuban lined up with their traditional lineup, however Ivelin Popov dropped deep into midfield to swap it from a 4-4-2 into a 4-3-3.

CSKA came right out of the gates on the attack, troubling Kuban's midfield and defence with their fluid front four. When 10 minutes rolled around on the clock, Alan Dzagoev had the first major attempt of the match, when his 35 yard piledriver was saved by Aleksandr Belenov. However, Belenov would not do so well less than a minute later when Ahmed Musa turned and shot low to the right of goal from a long Keisuke Honda pass for the only goal of the half, and ultimately the match. CSKA didn't hold off there however, as Dzagoev sent a scintillating free kick just over Seydou Doumbia's head 12 minutes later. Kuban then turned around for their first real attempt of the match when Charles Kabore sent his long range effort straight at Igor Akinfeev, who saved confidently. Kuban followed this up 5 minutes later with a calamitous miss from point blank range by Ivelin Popov following a corner. Before long however, CSKA were back on top, and Dzagoev sent a first time shot just over the bar from the edge of the box. Unfortunately, despite their dominance CSKA only went into the half one goal to the good.

football formationsBoth sides appeared to come out after half time with a different mentality, as Kuban pressed more, while CSKA appeared happy to sit on the ball in possession, although the match progressed in much the same way as it had before the break. Dzagoev continued having a fantastic game as he dictated play all over the pitch, sending a long ball into Kuban's box just before the hour mark, however Doumbia was unable to finish the chance. CSKA's final 3 chances all came from Dzagoev as well, as he fed a through ball for Ahmed Musa 25 minutes from the end, however the Nigerian sent the ball straight at Belenov. Dzagoev also fed substitute Zoran Tosic 10 minutes from time, but again the effort was straight at the keeper. Finally in stoppage time, Dzagoev sent a strong effort at goal that Belenov got in the way of. Musa got his head to the rebound, yet Belenov was there again to stop the effort, before he also touched away Honda's point blank attempt to finish out the match.

Man of the Match: Alan Dzagoev
Dzagoev may have had the game of his career today, as he controlled the match from start to finish. Not only did he create almost every CSKA chance, but he also had two excellent shots from long range and a few excellent set pieces.

Honourable Mentions:
Aleksandr Belenov - Fantastic keeping, capped off with a triple save in stoppage time.
Charles Kabore - The key man for Kuban. Had a number of excellent passes throughout the game.
Ahmed Musa - Well taken goal, as well as good movement off the ball for the rest of the match.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Star trio head Anzhi firesale

Anzhi's firesale is in full swing after Dynamo Moscow president Gennady Solovyov confirmed that all of Igor Denisov, Aleksandr Kokorin and Yuri Zhirkov have been signed by the club and will be unveiled as Dynamo players on Friday.

Kokorin and Denisov are recent signings at Anzhi, having only spent just over a month at the club after joining from Zenit and Dynamo respectively. Denisov only made three appearances for the club, while Kokorin failed to appear due to suspension. Meanwhile, Zhirkov joined Anzhi from Chelsea in 2011 and made 46 league appearances in his time at the club. The fee for the triple transfer was undisclosed, however Anzhi is expected to make a loss on all three players after Kokorin joined for €19 million and both Denisov and Zhirkov for €15 million each.

The transfers follow the completion of Oleg Shatov's move to Zenit (ironically, this was most likely to replace Denisov), while Samuel Eto'o and Willian are believed to be in talks with English Premier League clubs Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. Foreign players such as Lassana Diarra, Lacina Traore and Christopher Samba are also expected to complete moves away from the club, in addition to lesser known Russian players like Vladimir Gabulov, Arseni Logashov and Aleksei Ionov

Speculation is all well and good, but the facts are that Anzhi's project is now officially over and that the firesale still has a long way to go. Especially after their poor start to the season, expect Anzhi to struggle greatly this year, possibly even falling into a relegation battle. Nonetheless, it is a sad time for a league that was finally gaining parity at the top, despite this being a result of excessive spending. CSKA, Spartak and Zenit are now the only likely contenders in what looks to be a three horse race for the RPL title.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Rumour Roundup: August 14th, 2013

What's up everybody? After a few weeks away, I'm finally back on full duty here at FBTIC with the first Rumour Roundup in almost a month. Also, what a week to return, with Anzhi's fire sale about to begin, meaning their players dominate the news this week.

Done Deals:
Spartak Moscow have completed the signing of Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande for a price of €7 million. Barrios only scored 5 goals in 17 games in China, yet made his name as a talented finisher at Borussia Dortmund. The Paraguayan has taken the number 9 at Spartak, formerly belonging to outcast Ari.

In a shock move, Zenit have signed Krasnodar right back Igor Smolnikov for a fee of €6 million. Smolnikov presumably joined to cover until Aleksandr Anyukov returns to the first team after his prolonged injury lay-off, with a view to becoming first choice as Anyukov declines with age.

Looking Likely:
Dynamo appears to be close to the double signing of Anzhi's Igor Denisov and Yuri Zhirkov, via RIA Novosti. Denisov only recently joined Anzhi from Zenit, playing 3 games, yet he is one of the highest earners at the club and will likely be one of the first players to go as Anzhi scale back their side. Meanwhile, Zhirkov has struggled with injuries of late and his sale would be a likely way to recoup wages.

Samuel Eto'o could be allowed to leave Anzhi for free according to Gazzetta, with both Chelsea and Inter Milan believed to be interested. Eto'o is believed to want to reunite with Jose Mourinho, while the Daily Mail claims that he may go to Napoli, despite their recent signing of another striker in Gonzalo Higuain.

50/50:
Spartak is believed to have agreed a €7 million fee with Ajax for Belgian central defender Toby Alderweireld, yet Sport-Express reports that the contract has yet to be agreed, with Alderweireld requesting wages €60,000 per week, which is higher than Spartak are willing to offer. The Belgian turned down a move to English side Norwich earlier this summer after failing to agree on personal terms, but has been linked to Tottenham Hotspur as part of a double deal along with Christian Eriksen.

Willian is believed to be angling for a move away from Anzhi, despite only joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in January. If the Guardian is to be believed, Liverpool are about to make a €35 million bid for the Brazilian, while Tottenham may also renew their interest if Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid as rumoured.

So there you have it. Anzhi's rapid decline has begun and it shall be glorious to watch.

Monday, August 5, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek Recap 4: Rostov pull level on points with Spartak

This past matchweek has been somewhat more laid back and regular than that which we've experienced so far this season. Interestingly, all of the week's draws occurred on Sunday, where Rubin and Kuban each picked up their third draws of the season. Also, this matchweek only saw 2 penalties, rather than the 8, 5 and 6 in previous weeks.

football formations
Anzhi 0-1 Rostov
Rostov went ahead through Guelor Kanga Kaku despite having less of both chances and possession and successfully held their lead until the end of the match, meaning that Rostov remained undefeated and went level at the top of the league, while Anzhi have continued their woeful start to the season, still yet to have won a match. This was also the first game this season in which Artem Dzyuba has failed to score.

Volga 1-3 Zenit
Zenit went ahead in the 19th minute through Danny, although Andrei Karyaka equalised for Volga just 2 minutes later. Hulk was then sent off with 2 yellow cards in 3 minutes, however Danny scored 2 more in the final 10 minutes to seal the result.

Tom 1-2 Ural
Denis Tumasyan scored for Ural early, but conceded a penalty to allow Igor Portnyagin to equalise. However, Artur Sarkisov hit back just 5 minutes later to hand the result to Ural and give Tom Tomsk their fourth loss from four games.

Dynamo 1-0 Terek
Terek only managed 2 shots on target from 13 total, allowing Dynamo to take advantage of mostly even possession and get a winner through Christian Noboa in the 71st minute.

Rubin 0-0 CSKA
Neither side was able to take advantage in a fantastic back-and-forth match in which both sides played fantastically. Both sides defended superbly to stop any goals being scored as an excellent display of both last-ditch defending and counter-attacking football.

Amkar 0-0 Krylia
Amkar deserved to win this match, having had more chances and higher possession, yet both sides failed to have an impact on the scoring and witnessed the second goalless draw of the day, although somewhat less exciting than the first.

Kuban 2-2 Spartak
Spartak took the lead through Emmanuel Emenike on the half hour mark, although Kuban hit back through Xandao and Ibrahima Balde to go ahead 2-1. Valery Karpin introduced Yura Movsisyan immediately following Balde's goal and the change made an immediate difference as Movsisyan equalised just 4 minutes later. The match stayed at 2-2, despite possession being at 71%-29% in Spartak's favour.

Lokomotiv 3-1 Krasnodar
Lokomotiv completely dominated Krasnodar, having 19 shots to Krasnodar's 4. Krasnodar's central defenders in particular were very poor, with Artur Jedrzejczyk picking up a red card and Aleksandr Martynovich scoring an own goal. The remaining two goals were scored by Dame N'Doye and rare starter Vitali Denisov.

Table:
1 - Spartak
2 - Rostov
3 - CSKA
4 - Lokomotiv
5 - Zenit
6 - Dynamo
7 - Kuban
8 - Rubin
9 - Amkar
10 - Volga
11 - Krasnodar
12 - Ural
13 - Anzhi
14 - Krylia
15 - Terek
16 - Tom

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Temporary Hiatus Announcement

Hey everyone. Due to exams over the next few weeks, I will unfortunately be unable to update From Beyond the Iron Curtain on as regular a basis as I am now. My exam schedule works out that I can continue to write Matchweek Recaps, but I'll have to skip Match Reports for the next two weeks and both this week's and next week's Rumour Roundups. This means that the next article you'll see up here will be the Matchweek Recap on August 6th, followed by the Recap on the 13th after which regular releases will resume. Thank you all for your patience and I look forward to continuing regular content soon. See y'all in a few weeks time

2013-14 Matchweek 3 Recap: CSKA and Spartak triumph in separate Moscow derbies

This week in the RPL got even further out of hand when it comes to penalties, with the 8 awarded even higher than the 5 and 6 in the two previous weeks and taking the total this season to 19. In other news, Spartak and CSKA defeated Dynamo and Lokomotiv respectively in Moscow derbies this weekend.

football formationsZenit 1-1 Kuban
Zenit replaced debuting left back Dzhamaldin Khodzhaniyazov with club legend Andrei Arshavin, who put the hosts ahead in the 65th minute, but Zenit paid for their weakened defence when Gigel Bucur equalised 10 minutes from time to level the match at 1-1, which was arguably a fair result to continue a disappointing start to Zenit's season.

Dynamo 1-4 Spartak
Jose Manuel Jurado inspired Spartak to four goal first half lead with an impressive brace, while Pavel Yakovlev and Emmanuel Emenike each fired home as well. Spartak sat back after the break and allowed Andriy Voronin to score a penalty, but still held onto the game to take a satisfying 4-1 win.

Ural 1-2 Volga
Ural went ahead from an early Spartak Gogniev penalty but suffered two second half goals, including another penalty, this time scored by Andrei Karyaka to fall to fellow bottom feeder Volga 2-1.

Rostov 3-0 Tomsk
Rostov continued their surprising and impressive start to the season while Tomsk carried on their dismal form in the clash between the two sides. Artem Dzyuba scored a hat-trick, including a penalty, to take his tally to 6 this season, an even more impressive number considering that Rostov have only scored 7 in total. Dzyuba could have had a 4th when another penalty was awarded, but Timofei Kalachev opted to take it and failed to convert, leaving the scoreline at 3-0.

Lokomotiv 1-2 CSKA
The soon-to-depart Keisuke Honda put CSKA ahead less than 20 minutes in before Lokomotiv threw everything forward and earned an equaliser through Dmitri Tarasov 15 minutes from time. Unfortunately, they were punished just 8 minutes later when Ahmed Musa put away the winner to end the weekend's second Moscow derby 2-1 in CSKA's favour.

Krylia 1-1 Anzhi
Despite going ahead just before the hour mark through Samuel Eto'o, Anzhi never really got going in a match they probably should have dominated and they were punished for their lacklustre performance by an 82nd minute Roman Vorobyov equaliser to leave Samara with just a point from the 1-1 draw and continue a poor start to the season.

Terek 0-0 Rubin
This was a goalless draw and I was only able to catch glimpses of it, so I don't have much to say other than Bibras Natkho looked impressive like he always does.

Krasnodar 2-1 Amkar
Despite going behind before the break via a Martin Jakubko goal, Krasnodar hit 2 goals in 3 minutes to take a tightly contested match that really should have been much more one sided when looking at the lineups.

Table:
1 - Spartak
2 - Rostov
3 - CSKA
4 - Kuban
5 - Rubin
6 - Amkar
7 - Volga
8 - Krasnodar
9 - Lokomotiv
10 - Zenit
11 - Dynamo
12 - Anzhi
13 - Terek
14 - Krylia
15 - Ural
16 - Tom

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Dynamo 1-4 Spartak: Spartak dominate Moscow derby to make it 3 wins from 3

Spartak Moscow heaped on the goals in a confident first half against Dynamo, going up 4-0 at the break, allowing them to let off in the second half and eventually take the derby 4-1.

Spartak lined up in their typical 4-2-3-1 formation, with McGeady & Yakovlev taking up the flanks, Costa & Glushakov lining up in the double pivot and Carioca alongside Bocchetti in the heart of defence in the face of Sergei Bryzgalov's injury. Meanwhile, Dynamo lined up in a similar 4-2-3-1, but playmaker Roman Zobnin had to be replaced by Andriy Voronin early on and the lineup ended playing out like a 4-4-2 for the majority of the match (see diagram).

football formationsDynamo started strongly, having the majority of chances in the first 5 minutes as Spartak looked weak in possession. However, Spartak's pressure on Dynamo's defence gave Jose Jurado a shooting opportunity, which he capitalised on, slotting the ball low to the left of the goal to give Spartak a 1-0 lead on 6 minutes. It didn't take long for the visitors to double their lead, when Aiden McGeady sent a long cross for Pavel Yakovlev, who controlled well and finished confidently bast Shunin. Despite being down two goals within 15 minutes, Dynamo fought on, but with little success. Their misery was heaped on even further at the half hour mark, when Leandro Fernandez made a poor attempt at a back pass. Emmanuel Emenike latched onto the ball and coolly finished to give Spartak a three goal lead. Spartak then finally got their last goal of the game just 3 minutes before half time, when Jurado sent a rocket into the top left corner from long range and send Dynamo into the half four goals down.

Spartak came out in the second half much more reserved than they had before the break. Dynamo however, pushed much harder for goals, but had little success. Voronin came close with a low shot to the right of goal in just after the hour, while Kasaev shot over the bar minutes later. Dynamo's only goal came after Salvatore Bocchetti fouled Kasaev in the box in the 79th minute, giving away a penalty. Voronin coolly converted, even though Pesyakov managed to get a hand to the ball. Just minutes later, substitute Vladimir Sobolev sent a volley just over the bar, but Dynamo had to settle for a 4-1 loss in one of the biggest derbies in the RPL.

Man of the Match: Jose Manuel Jurado
This was a tough choice, as it also could have gone to Pavel Yakovlev or Sergei Parshivlyuk, but Jurado gets the man of the match award for his two goals and constant creative threat. Both of his goals were impressive finishes and he completed all of his 42 attempted passes.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Vagner Love reportedly signs for Shandong Luneng

This week has seen a dearth of transfer rumours, so I decided that I'd replace the regular rumour roundup with this special Vagner Love edition.

Chinese side Shandong Luneng have announced the signing of CSKA Moscow's forward Vagner Love. Love only rejoined CSKA in January and was spectacular in the second half of the 2012-13 RPL season, often playing in the hole behind Ahmed Musa. This transfer has not been rumoured at all, and by all accounts Love is happy in Moscow. The most interesting thing about this transfer is that CSKA have failed to confirm it as yet and Shandong are the only party involved that have given any indication that a move is on the cards.

There are a number of possibilities that could possibly explain why Shandong are the only party leaking this to the press. The first possibility is that CSKA is just slow in announcing the news and that the move has already been completed, which is definitely. The next option is that Shandong are getting ahead of themselves and have released a pre-prepared announcement before the transfer has actually been completed and a deal is currently being negotiated, which I believe is the most likely option as it has happened on numerous occasions with other clubs. The final possibility is that Shandong have announced the move as a way to get free press and that CSKA have had little to no contact with them. By claiming that Love has signed, news outlets from across the world will gain interest in Shandong and increase their international profile.

Regardless, more cannot be discerned until CSKA makes an official announcement, at which point things should become clearer. Such an announcement should not be more than a few hours away, but I personally cannot believe that CSKA would sell Love for anything short of a king's ransom. The inevitable loss of Keisuke Honda will hit them hard, and losing Love would all but end the club's hope for a second consecutive title.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 2 Recap: Spartak only team to have won first two matches

This week, there were a number of victories with a scoreline of 2-1, as the RPL finally got properly underway after a week of draws. This week also continued the trend of a large number of penalties, with 5 across 3 matches, meaning that the total after just two weeks is 11.

football formations Dynamo 2-1 Anzhi
Dynamo went ahead early through a Pavel Solomatin goal and Anzhi's troubles were further compounded when Ewerton was sent off just 7 minutes later. Despite being outnumbered, Anzhi equalised in the 83rd minute through a Christopher Samba header, but were punished in stoppage time when Andriy Voronin converted a penalty to give Dynamo the win.

Tom 1-2 Kuban
Kuban pulled away from Tom inside 13 minutes with goals from Ibrahima Balde and Aras Ozbiliz, before Kirill Panchenko pulled one back for Tom. For the most part, the match continued without much of note and the final result was a 2-1 victory to Kuban.

Volga 1-2 Lokomotiv
After a dull first half, Maicon sent Lokomotiv ahead in the 63rd minute with a well timed header, but the visitors couldn't celebrate for long as Mulumba Mukendi equalised just 4 minutes later. With both sides throwing everything forward, it was right back Roman Shishkin who gave Lokomotiv the win with an excellent free kick in the 87th minute.

Terek 1-1 Amkar
Terek got off to a good start in the 12th minute with a goal from Igor Lebedenko, although both sides played fairly well for the entirety of the first half. Martin Jakubko got Amkar's equaliser in the 55th and the match ended at 1-1, although it was notable for the large amount of yellow cards given.

Rubin 2-1 Zenit
Danny put Zenit up in just the 6th minute in Kazan, before Gokdeniz Karadeniz equalised for Rubin just after half time. After a back and forth match of many chances, it was Salomon Rondon who got the winner for Rubin in stoppage time with an excellent header and his first goal of the season.

Ural 0-2 Spartak
Neither side was very effective in the first half, but just minutes after the break, substitute Aiden McGeady put Spartak in front. McGeady was involved again when he assisted Emmanuel Emenike's goal in stoppage time to give Spartak a 2-0 win.

Rostov 2-2 Krasnodar
Marcio Abreu gave Krasnodar an early lead, but it was wiped out immediately by Timofei Kalachev's equaliser. Artem Dzyuba gave Rostov the lead with a penalty just after the break, but Wanderson managed to claw one back in the dying minutes of the game to salvage a point for Krasnodar.

CSKA 2-1 Krylia
CSKA got off to a disastrous start against Krylia, losing Georgi Schennikov to a red card in the 8th minute before Alan Dzagoev gave away a penalty which Ilya Maksimov converted to give the visitors a one goal lead. Things went from bad to worse for the host when Dzagoev missed a penalty up the other end by blazing it over the bar. Seydou Doumbia was introduced at the break and scored on a counter just after the hour mark, before winning and converting a penalty 10 minutes from time to give CSKA the win.

Table:
1 - Spartak
2 - Amkar
3 - Dynamo
4 - Rostov
5 - Lokomotiv
6 - CSKA
7 - Rubin
8 - Kuban
9 - Zenit
10 - Anzhi
11 - Volga
12 - Terek
13 - Krasnodar
14 - Ural
15 - Krylia
16 - Tom

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Rubin 2-1 Zenit: Rondon stuns visitors with last minute winner

Rubin took a back and forth game with a late Salomon Rondon winner, downing Zenit by a goal when the result really could have gone either way.

football formationsZenit started promisingly by converting the first chance of the match. Bukharov tapped an Anyukov cross over Sergei Ryzhikov and Danny was there to slot the ball away and give Zenit the lead in only the 6th minute. Rubin however, were the controlling side for most of the first half, having greater possession and a number of close chances. Yann M'Vila had a long shot fumbled by Lodygin in the 19th, but the keeper was able to recover the ball before and Rubin players could follow it up. Despite having less possession, Zenit managed a number of chances on counter attacks, with Aleksandr Bukharov coming close twice after Danny fired across the face of goal. Salomon Rondon came close up the other end, but could not have any impact on the score before half time. Rubin went into the interval undeservedly trailing to Zenit, having been the better side.

Zenit were the only side to make a change at the break, replacing the error-prone Nicolas Lombaerts with Anatoliy Tymoschuk, and immediately looked better for it. The visitors looked more comfortable in possession and physically dominant, but suffered just 6 minutes in when Gokdenis Karadeniz knocked away the equaliser. Karadeniz attempted to score with a bicycle kick from a Prudnikov cross, but missed the ball, coolly slotting away after it fell to his feet in the following scramble. Conceding spurred Zenit into action, and Bukharov was soon replaced by Hulk, who was largely ineffective in a central role in his time on the pitch. With the match drawing to a close, Hulk had his only major chance of the game when he fired straight at Ryzhikov from inside the 6-yard box and failed to get a shot off from the rebound. With the game running deep into stoppage time, Salomon Rondon got his head to an Oleg Kuzmin cross, nodding it goalwards and Lodygin was unable to reach it, giving Rubin a 2-1 win.

Man of the Match: Yann M'Vila
M'Vila was tidy on the ball, completing 93% of his passes, and dominant in defence. He had two shots from range, both on target, and made all of Zenit's midfield look invisible for large stretches of the first half.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 1 Recap: 2-2 Draws Galore

This week, the 2013-14 RPL season started and I begin my weekly recap today with this post, which just includes a brief description of every match in the previous week as well as my own personal team of the week. Particularly of note were the trio of 2-2 draws, all of which were breathtaking and unexpected, as well as the 6 penalties across the games this week, which signals a concerning trend in the quality of refereeing in the league.

football formationsDynamo 2-2 Volga
Volga took an shock 2-0 lead within 3 minutes, but Dynamo managed to fight back and equalise by the half hour mark. Neither side were able to put away any of the plethora of chances in the rest of the match and it ended 2-2.

Anzhi 2-2 Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv took a 1-0 lead through Dame N'Doye goal before Samuel Eto'o and Lacina Traore each scored within 4 minutes to to put Anzhi in the lead. Substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko scored on the break to equalise, but Traore went down under extremely light pressure from Vedran Corluka up the other end to win a penalty. Guilherme saved Eto'o's effort to hold onto a 2-2 draw.

Kuban 1-1 Rubin
Rubin lost Aleksandr Ryazantsev to a red card but still managed to get the opening goal of the match through Roman Eremenko. Kuban equalised 15 minutes from time, but failed to find a winner despite having 61% of possession, leaving the score at 1-1 at full time.

Rostov 2-1 Terek
Rostov conceded the first penalty of the match, which Ailton slotted away, before winning one of their own in the closing minutes of the match. Loanee Artem Dzyuba equalised with the chance, before scoring the winner in stoppage time to take the match 2-1.

Amkar 2-0 Tom
Amkar capitalised on 2 penalties in the opening 10 minutes to take the win at home and be the only team to keep a clean sheet this week. Vladimir Rykov got a card in the process of each penalty and was thus sent off, while Georgi Peev scored both to give Amkar the 2-0 victory.

Krylia 1-2 Spartak
Tino Costa had a memorable Spartak debut by scoring in the 18th minute, before Yura Movsisyan followed up with a penalty just 3 minutes later. Luis Caballero pulled one back for Krylia with a wonder goal just after the hour mark, but Krylia's chances were few and far between and they had to settle for a 2-1 loss.

Ural 2-2 CSKA
CSKA were by far the better team in the first half of their match against Ural but only managed one goal through Ahmed Musa before the break. Ural were much improved after the break and Spartak Gogniev scored twice to become the first player to score at least one goal for seven different RPL teams. Vagner Love equalised in the 86th minute and both Pontus Wernbloom and Sergei Ignashevich came close in stoppage time, but were unable to take a winner with the match ending 2-2.

Krasnodar 1-2 Zenit
Zenit went 2 goals up in the first half but conceded just after the break to suffer a nervy second period. Krasnodar were the better side, but couldn't beat the in-form Yuri Lodygin and failed to gain an equaliser. Despite being arguably the worse team, Zenit pulled out a 2-1 win to finish the matchweek.

Table:
1 - Amkar
2 - Rostov
3 - Spartak
4 - Zenit
5 - Anzhi
6 - CSKA
7 - Dynamo
8 - Lokomotiv
9 - Rubin Kuban
10 - Ural
11 - Volga
12 - Kuban
13 - Krasnodar
14 - Krylia
15 - Terek
16 - Tom

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Ural 2-2 CSKA: Ural contain title-holders in return to RPL

Ural have managed a 2-2 draw (the 3rd match with this score in the first matchweek) in their first match back in the Russian Premier League, holding CSKA Moscow despite the early dominance of the visitors.

football formationsCSKA lined up in their predictable 4-2-3-1 formation, but started with a double pivot of Wernbloom and Dzagoev with Honda lining up on the right flank. Ural played their own 4-2-3-1 with Serder Serderov on the right flank and Spartak Gogniev at striker. The match started somewhat predictably, with CSKA having the majority of both possession and chances and coming close through both Zuber and Love within the first 10 minutes. Ural seriously struggled to get the ball out of their half and CSKA were content to spray the ball around the park with little fear of conceding possession. Aleksandr Sapeta was particularly quiet in this period and did little to break up play of any sort. Dzagoev came close from his deeper position with nice aerial control and a half-volley from range, but Pomazan was equal to it and took it easily. CSKA finally took the lead in the 25th minute when Georgi Schennikov put a cross low into the path of an onrushing Ahmed Musa, who easily put it into the back of the net. After the goal, CSKA let off slightly, but were still more than enough to handle the poor Ural. They only managed to come close one more time before the break however, when Honda fired low to the right of the goal, missing the post by millimetres. The visitors thus went into halftime deservedly in the lead.

The Ural side that came out in the second half looked entirely different, despite only one change being made (Artur Sarkisov replacing Aleksandr Erokhin). The hosts immediately went on the front foot and capitalised on some disastrous CSKA defending to equalise just 3 minutes after half time. Zuber's attempted header backwards was too powerful and it fell to Serderov, who slotted it sideways to Spartak Gogniev. Gogniev took a shot first time, but still relied on a deflection to put it past Akinfeev and become the first player to score for seven different RPL clubs. Before long, Zuber was replaced by Rasmus Elm, with Dzagoev shifted to the left wing, but this failed to have a significant effect as Ural began to take a hold of the game in front of their home fans. They were finally rewarded for their effort and went ahead in the 77th minute as Gogniev took his second on a tap in from a low Andrei Gorbanets cross. CSKA finally turned the game back in their favour and were rewarded with an equaliser from Vagner Love on a header from a long Rasmus Elm cross. With the game level once again, CSKA pushed further forward. Pontus Wernbloom had a header cleared off the goal line. Sergei Ignashevich followed up with a strong shot from range which went narrowly over the bar and proved to be the final attempt of the match, ending it at 2-2.

Man of the Match: Spartak Gogniev
With 2 goals against the title holders in a fantastic all-round performance, Gogniev was a constant threat to Igor Akinfeev's goal by exploiting weaknesses in CSKA's defence. Excellent performance

Rumour Roundup: July 17th, 2013

It's the first RPL matchweek, so inevitably all of the news this week is on the actual matchweek rather than transfers, so this is a short Rumour Roundup. Also, I'm sick of rumours about Keisuke Honda, so nothing more about him until he leaves or signs a new contract.

Done Deals:
Vladimir Dyadyun has signed for Dynamo Moscow from Rubin Kazan, despite being the club's second highest scorer last season. Dyadyun started his career at Rubin and spent 3 spells away from the club at Rostov, Tom Tomsk and Spartak Nalchik, but this is his first permanent move away from the club. Dyadyun is presumably seen as a replacement for Aleksandr Kokorin and will likely rotate starts with Andriy Voronin and Kevin Kuranyi.

Looking Likely:
FC Twente's central defender Douglas is believed to be close to signing for Dynamo after the Dutch press reported that he was in Moscow to have a medical. Dinamo have been looking a little low on depth and quality in defence since allowing Denis Kolodin to leave on a free transfer.

50/50:
Zenit have reportedly made an offer in the range of €22 million for Internacional's Leandro Damiao, despite reported interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli. Internacional's asking price is reported to be €25 million for the 23 year old, who had an impressive first three years and 2012 Olympics, but has had a sub-par 2013, riddled with injuries and patches of poor form.

Zenit have also lodged an offer for Cagliari's central midfielder Radja Nainggolan to fill out the squad's thin midfield. Zenit have lacked depth after the sale of Igor Denisov and the retirement of Sergei Semak. The offer is rumoured to be around €15 million, which is close to Cagliari's reported €18 million asking price.

Low Chance:
Dynamo have received no offer for out of favour Igor Semshov, who wants more playing time after playing only 22 matches in all competitions last season. The 35 year old central midfielder was first choice for Russia for almost 10 years but hasn't made an appearance for the national team since June 2012.

And yes, every rumour includes either Zenit or Dynamo. That's just the way this week's gone.